Boilers can be an efficient way of heating your home or business – but if your boiler is worn out, you might be thinking about replacing it.
Old boilers tend to be a lot less efficient than their newer counterparts. That means new ones can heat a building more quickly and precisely, all while saving you money. Before you replace your old boiler with a new model, however, here are a few things that you should consider:
Will a repair do the trick?
Those of you who have 20-year-old boilers are probably not going to be well-served by repairs. At the end of the day, if you’re repairing your boiler several times a year, and you’re losing out on energy efficiency, you’re probably spending more than you need to.
On the other hand, if your boiler is relatively new, simple repairs are recommended. If you find repairs are coming up more often than you’d like with a newer model, talk to your boiler repair technician. It’s possible that the installer made a mistake, or that more regular maintenance could help you reduce the number of repairs you’ll need.
While you can handle some boiler maintenance yourself, you can call us for more rigorous Winnipeg boiler maintenance.
What size/capacity boiler do I need?
Once you’ve decided that replacement is the way to go, the first thing you’ll have to consider is the size and capacity that you’ll need for your boiler.
Those are two distinct things. The size of a boiler refers to its physical dimensions. In most cases, you need to be able to fit your boiler in the same place your old boiler was located.
The capacity of your boiler refers to its ability to heat your building. When you choose a boiler with too low a capacity, your building won’t get hot enough. Too high a capacity, and your building will heat up too quickly, causing the boiler to toggle on and off and contributing to wear and tear.
For the more technically-inclined among you, HPAC Magazine created a guide to making sense of boiler ratings. For the rest of you, it’s fine to rely on your technician to make sure your boiler fits your building perfectly – both in terms of its physical dimensions and its heating capacity.
The cost/benefit analysis
Finally, you’ll want to keep in mind that more expensive boilers can be advantageous to install – as long as they pay for themselves by giving you more energy-efficient heating.
You can do this by calculating how much you’re spending on heating right now, getting an estimate of your boiler’s current fuel efficiency, and looking at how efficient a new boiler might be. Then, take the cost of the new boiler, compare it to the cost of less efficient boilers, compare their energy ratings, and see how quickly each boiler pays for itself. You’ll also want to consider how long you plan on being in the same building, and how different boilers might affect the building’s resale value.
That’s a lot to think about – and we haven’t even begun to discuss the different types of boilers, like combi boilers. We can help you find the most efficient boiler for your needs – give us a call, and we can provide you with a new boiler consultation.
